Your first opponent is the net.

Opponent #1 – The Net

The first opponent is the net. Unless you clear the net with your shots, you cannot begin to compete against your opponent on the other side of the net.  The game you will be playing will resemble golf – you hit the ball into the net then go pick it up and repeat the process.  Doesn’t sound like much fun to me.

Opponent’s Description:

1. The net is a deceptive opponent; it is almost transparent, it has holes and you can see through it.
2. The net is only 3 feet high at the center and grows to 3 feet 6 inches at the net posts – about the height of the character “ET” in the movie with the same name.
3. It is distracting when you are playing. Your eyes seem to be attracted to the white band at the top of the net.  This amazingly seems to direct all your shots to this 3 inch target – which means you seldom get a chance to play the person on the other side of the net – Advantage Net.

Problem:

1. Because 60% of your points lost never clear the net, you end up losing to an opponent that doesn’t even move.
2. 60% of the time you have to go pick up our own mistake.
3. You have a hard time defeating the player on the other side when we give them 60% of their points with no effort on their part.

Solution – create consequences in practice.  The next time you go out to practice, select from the following options:

1. Any ball hit in the net equals 5 push ups for the striker.
2. Any ball hit into the net gives your opponent 2 points.
3. Any ball hit into the net on your service game (your serve) allows your opponent to become the server and visa versa.
4. Any ball hit into the net within the first 4 balls of a rally (including the serve and return) equals a game for the opponent.

Opponent #2 – The Lines

Once you have defeated your first opponent, you will now face your next opponent – the lines. Unless you are able to place your shots on or inside the lines designated for serving, receiving and rallying (depending upon whether you are playing singles or doubles) you will never be able to score a point against that “person on the other side of the net.”

The lines on the opponent’s court create a network of options for us when we play.

1. First there are 4 giant squares or actually rectangles in which to hit our shots.  The two rectangles near the net are 13 ½ feet. wide and 21 feet long. The two in the back are 13 ½ feet wide and 19 feet long in which to direct our shots.
2. If we are playing doubles there are two alleys that are 4 ½ feet wide and 39 feet long to add to our shots.
3. There are singles sidelines, doubles sidelines, center service lines, baselines, service lines and even a center service hash mark that divides the baseline into a deuce and ad court half to distract us.

Opponent’s Description:

The lines are 2 inches in width and white in color.  They mark the boundaries of the court which may be a variety of colors; green, blue, tan, etc.

Problem:

Because the lines are the only targets you usually see when we are selecting our options for our shots, we will have a tendency to aim for them.  They are awfully small targets from so far away, while hitting a ball hard with a small racquet.

Solution – create consequences:

1. Keep score, minus 1 point for every ball hit into the net and minus 2 points for a shot hit wide of the correct side lines and minus 3 points for a shot hit beyond the baseline.
2. Any 1^st or 2^nd serve hit wide of the service box sidelines allows your opponent to become the server.
3. Any ground stroke or volley hit wide of the singles or doubles sidelines allows your opponent to become the server.
4. Any shot hit wide or long, equals 5 push ups (not as punishment but to create fatigue in the arms for subsequent shots.)
5. Any shot hit wide or long before completing a 4 ball rally will equal a game for the opponent (the average length of a point for most players is 4 shots at most every level of play.)

Once you have defeated the Net and the Lines you now have a chance of defeating your Opponent on the other side of the net – using your shot selection, speed, cunning and guile.

Check out my next article on “Defeating the Player on the Other Side of the Net” and visit my website at www.kendeharttennis.com.

Good Luck to you and may you never lose to the net or the lines – only to a better opponent.

Ken DeHart
USPTA Master Professional
USA High Performance Coach

Photo Credits: DaveMontPhotography

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San Jose Swim & Racquet Club

The following are 11 ways to improve your tennis game at the San Jose Swim & Racquet Club:

1. Private hour and half hour lessons. These lessons can include technical work and hitting with the pro during that time to see if the technical and strategy changes work.
2. Semi private lessons. Get together and start working with a team mate or best friends.
3. Team Practices. At practice learn how to use new strategies, unusual doubles formations and new shots to win.  Can be all strategy and match play.
4. Clinics for 3-4-5-6 players. Work on game play situations and strokes (only if needed to execute the strategy).
5. Drop-In Clinics. These clinics are available most every day of the week for all skill levels.  Just show up and get a practice – no game arranging necessary.
6. Free ball machine use. We have Playmate and Little Tennis Twist machines.
7. Tennis Socials against a variety of players. We host a lot of tennis socials throughout the year such as multiple fund raisers, the Wooden Racquet tournament, and for themes like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc.
8. Practice balls. Baskets of balls are available for members to practice serves, drill or train with another member.
9. Practice wall. It’s been undefeated since 1956.  Everyone grew up on the wall – great for conditioning and repetition of strokes.
10. USTA match play. We have singles, doubles and mixed on a year round basis.
11. Daily and weekly member. We have court reservations for walk-on and reserved courts on which to play and train.

Drop-In Clinics – The drop-in clinics present lots of opportunities to experience live ball situations in both repetitive and competitive match play within the clinics. The variety of players in the clinics also provide lots of live ball experiences with a variety of players. (Players hit close to 800-1,000 balls in the 1 ½ hour clinic.)

Meet New Players - Players meet new players in the drop-in clinics and often schedule hitting times with each other using the drills they used in the clinics to improve their skills.

+Only the Saturday 10-11:30  Drop-In (everyone’s favorite) ever has more than 4-6 players in a clinic and on 2 courts. In fact that there is usually 2-3 staff professionals in the clinics provide lots of individual help and hitting partners in the clinic.

Private Lessons - Any private lesson may involve adjustments in technique or strategy and then live ball hitting with the pro to determine immediately the students ability to execute the adjustments suggested by the professional.

**The amount of the hitting or instruction is determined by the wants or needs of the student. The private lesson may be a total time of live ball play with the pro. The pro may offer suggestions to improve the students technical or strategical skills.

Juniors Activities this summer:

In addition we have a Summer Sports Camp from 9 AM – 4 PM on Monday – Thursday for kids. Ages 5-16.

We offer summer tennis clinics and Junior Team Tennis vs other area clubs for all levels.

Quick Start is the way to introduce the young ones to tennis for a lifetime. Ages 4-8.

See our 2010 Summer Tennis Brochure for details or contact me directly. My number is 408-892-3806.

Visit http://www.sjswimandracquetclub.com/

• 5 Winning Keys to Lobbing, pt 3 Welcome to our third and final part of Keys to Lobbing. Number five, the last tip in this set is below. 5. 7 Tips to practicing the lob 1. Practice tossing the ball up, letting it bounce then directing the lob to a 9 foot by 9 foot area in......
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T is for Tennis

Think back to the great coaches and teachers in school or life who motivated or inspired you.  What were some of their characteristics that made them special in your eyes and made you want to be like them?

By no way is this complete, but here is a list of traits they often possessed, that you may recall from A to Z:

1. Always available.
2. Believes in others.
3. Compassionate.
4. Dependable.
5. Energetic.
6. Fun loving.
7. Gracious & a good listener.
8. Humble.
9. Inspiring.
10. Juggles many tasks at one time.
11. Kind.
12. Listener & learner.
13. Motivator.
14. Nonjudgmental.
15. Optimistic.
16. Problem solver.
17. Quality person.
18. Respectful of others.
19. Satisfying just to be around.
20. Trustworthy.
21. Understanding.
22. Volunteer.
23. Witty with a laugh & words.
24. X-cited about life in unique ways.
25. Yes man – it can be done.
26. Zealous about life and others.

We owe it to those who inspired us to pass along inspiration to others.  We should work to be an inspiration to others by how we live each day.

You never know who you might be coaching.

Ken DeHart

Photo Credits: nsaplayer

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How are they on short balls?

1. What type of grips do they use?
2. What type of shots do they prefer?
3. Is their forehand or backhand stronger?
4. What types of spin did they use?
5. How effective is their footwork?
6. What height do they prefer on the forehand & backhand?
7. How well do they volley and recover?
8. Do they look comfortable on short balls?
9. Are they comfortable with their overheads?
10. How did they serve? How much spin or speed?

While knowing your own game is important when you enter a match, learning all you can about your opponent can give you confidence and help you know how to use your game to defeat them.

Ken DeHart

www.kendeharttennis.com
kendehart@aol.com

Photo Credits: nsaplayer

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Are you adjusting your strategy?

1. What patterns do they use with their ground strokes to set up points?
2. How do they handle pace and off-pace balls?
3. Are they predictable with where they hit under pressure?
4. Based on their grips, where are their power zones?
5. How many balls are they willing to hit before going for a winner?
6. To which side – forehand or backhand, do they move weakest?
7. Are they winning because they are better than you or are you giving away points too early in the point with unforced errors?
8. Are you using the 5 tactical priorities of match play: in play, direction, depth, spin and speed to effectively play your points or are you just hitting balls?
9. Is your opponent beginning to tire, are they injured or are they rushing to play the points?
10. Are you sticking to your game plan or have you adjusted to the flow of the match?

A good game plan will often have to be adjusted as the match is in progress.  The opponent may well change their tactics and force you to adjust yours as well. Pay attention and know why you are winning and why you are losing during the match to choose the correct strategy and tactics.

Ken DeHart

www.kendeharttennis.com
kendehart@aol.com

Photo Credits: nsaplayer

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Review your match.

1. What were your best strokes and plays during the match?
2. What were their best strokes and plays during the match?
3. What were your weaknesses in the match?
4. What were their weaknesses in the match?
5. What was your confidence level like in the match – beginning, middle and end?
6. What was your conditioning level like in the match?
7. What was their conditioning level like in the match?
8. What key adjustments did you make in the match?
9. How did you adjust to their adjustments in the match?
10. If you had a chance to re-play the match what would you change?

Each match you play will help you get better, give you more information about your game and yourself.  You must pay attention to what each match teaches you to grow as a player.

From your mistakes you will learn the most -  but don’t forget to know why you won as well.

Each match is not the end but one more step on your journey to becoming the best player you can be – and it never ends.

Forever be a learner.

Ken DeHart

www.kendeharttennis.com
kendehart@aol.com

Photo Credits: pixeljones

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Tennis Lesson

Make your tennis lessons “likeable” by avoiding these 4 undesirables.

1. Lines – avoid having your students stand in lines and waiting for their next turn to play.  Make it a “moving experience” by using cones, donuts and games so the players are purposefully moving.
2. Yelling – don’t yell from across the net.  Learn to coach from the same side of the net they are on by using ball machines, other feeders and games.
3. Picking up balls – don’t make them pick up balls.  Use that time to teach them how to exercise their hamstrings, quads, glutes, groin and learning how to do a split step.  These are the 2 exercises a personal trainer would use to get them in shape: lunges and squats.  We don’t even charge extra for the personal training during our lessons.
4. Shadowing – they hate to “shadow” – it’s not real tennis.  It’s not shadowing, its free practice time.  It takes 10,000 to 12,000 hours to become a high level player.  The more swings you get in during this hour the closer you are to being good.  Besides, if you can’t do  the skill without the ball – how can you do it when the ball coming to you?

A masterful tennis professional will make learning fun by using these  “4 Undesirables” in a positive way so students will learn tennis in a fun environment. They will make lesson time “likeable” by doing the following “4 Desirable” things with their students:

1. Be organized – so time passes quickly and is used efficiently so they get true value.
2. Teamwork – use games and competitions where students learn to cooperate to improve.
3. Play – give them a game situation so they can see the progress of their skills they have worked on in the lessons.  They take lessons so they can become better players not lesson-takers.
4. Learning – they want to improve.  Remind them of what they worked on during the lesson and how much they have improved. Also point out how to practice so they will improve faster for the next lesson or their next big match.

Photo Credits: Joe Shlabotnik

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• Racquet Mail: How to Create a Better Forehand Question: I am finding that my swing and my backhand grip are much better than my forehand. When I go for a forehand shot, it usually ends up with a tremendous amount of topspin making it difficult to hit. Still, my opponent on the other side of the net seems......
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Tennis Practice

Cindy Lopper sung a song “Girls Just Wanta Have Fun”.  The same is true for adults.  They play tennis because they “Just Wanta Have Fun”.  They take lessons for the same reason.  As a tennis professional you have to know how adults learn so they can have fun.  Lets take a look at some of these key elements:

1. Experience is how they learn best. They want to know how but mostly they want to do it.  Get them involve in doing quickly.
2. They learn when they see a need. Determine what their goals are and capitalize on their desire to meet that goal. Be positive with them and encourage them to step outside the box.
3. Self directed learning is the best. Don’t tell them what you know, help them learn how they best learn and how they can direct their own learning about the game. Provide feedback so they can adjust their actions.
4. Age and experience are key factors in how, when and why they learn. Adjust your teaching to where they are in their life and learning style.
5. “Just like” - because of their experiences they can pick up on things that are just like other things they already do in life and work.  Help them see how they already know how to.

Not everyone learns the same way and adults often learn different from children.  Be aware of teaching to the needs and level of your students not just how you like to teach.

Photo Credits: yonghokim

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Hit for Haiti

Friday night is date night for Karen and I.  Kameron is spending the night with his friend Jordon. I had gotten home first from the club and started to string 1 of the 4 racquets for the night.  I turned on the TV and went to the Tennis Channel #411 and there it was – The Hit for Hati in Indian Wells.

Karen got home from the tax office and instead of going out to eat, we ate peanut butter & jelly so we could watch this special event.

*~*

Steffi Graff and Lindsey Davenport vs Martina Navratilova and Justine Henin – a collection of 50 Grand Slam Titles.  They were wired for sound and Martina dominate the running commentary as the match was played out before a sold out crowd of 60,000 fans in an event put on by Larry “E” from Oracle.  It was motivated by Roger Federer’s event at the Australian Open in January.

There goal $1,000,000 for the Red Cross relief fund.

Round 1 – Ladies Doubles

The tennis was awesome.  Justin, who just a couple of hours earlier had fallen to defeat in the 1st round of Indian Wells was out there and loving being on the court with all these special players. Martina who is just 2 years removed from winning a US Open MXD title with Bob Bryan.  Lindsey, who after 2 children is coming back to play World Team Tennis and Steffi Graff who has two children with Andre and plays little.

Great points - huge Steffi forehand, killer Lindsey backhand, angled Martina volleys and Justin’s amazing quickness and backhand.  They laughed, tried not to be the first one to serve, talked about their children and were admittedly concerned about – not looking bad on the court.

Steffi said no tennis for her children – baseball. Martina said, “Why not, tennis is a great sport?”  Steffi said the kids have not shown any particular interest in tennis at this point.  What a waste of a talent pool! Steffi & Andre – got to be some great tennis genes in there.

Round 2 – Men’s Doubles

Rafa Nadal and Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.  Not as many Grand Slam Titles but some pretty awesome players and points.  The tennis was a little more serious.  Andre was a crack up with a running commentary of ‘Trash-Talking’ to Roger and Pete.

Andre would predict how fast he would serve and be within 1 mph of the speed he predicted.  He joked about receiving Pete’s serve at a break point and joked that he had been there before.  He challenged Roger, smacked a few winners pass both Roger and Pete and hit a couple of aces. The tennis was high quality and high energy.

Pete was quiet as usual until he finally told Andre he was going to add some humor – he imitated Andre’s walk and how he tucks his shirt – everyone laughed. Then – OOPS – Andre imitated Pete by pulling his pockets on his warm up pants inside out and saying he had no money to tip.  THINGS GOT QUIET – there was an uneasy tension in the stadium and on the court.

Pete was visibly upset with the humor – everyone in the commentary booth sensed it as well.  There were a few more barbs tossed back and forth.  Pete told Andre he made it “personal”.  At one point Pete served at Andre who was standing on the baseline while Rafa was receiving.  Andre did not take well to that.  Rafa and Andre broke Pete and on the change over, Justin “G” went down to the players on the side line and tried to “lighten up the mood” on the court.

The mood on the court the remainder of the match was – not as much fun. Roger did a great job – as the neutral Swiss – in trying to bridge the gap and bring the fun back.  Finally Andre attempted to lighten things up a little but not with much success.

Roger and Pete won the match to 8 games.  Nadal spoke little as did Pete.  After the match, Pete and Andre gave each other a hug.  Pete said, “I love you Andre,” but you never got the sense that things would be well between the two.  Andre had written in his book about Pete being a bad tipper and Pete had not liked the comment then and had addressed it with the press and supposedly with Andre.

*~*

We were reminded about the true intent of the event and things got back on track as a $1,000,000 check was presented to Haitian Relief.  Tony Bennett sang “Smile”, a song influenced by the great Charlie Chaplin.  They showed scenes from Haiti and the coming of smiles as the Red Cross offered food and aid to the victims.

Karen and I never made it out on our date night – but she loved the tennis and seeing the best players having fun and for a great cause.  I got my 4 racquets strung and hoped for dry courts on Saturday morning.

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Tennis Ball and Grape Balloons.

Playing in Serbia on the red clay, Americans John Isner and Sam Querry showed heart and where American tennis still has a great crop of young players coming along.

In their first ever Davis Cup appearance, John and Sam lost their first matches as USA players.  That had to be nervous time – can you imagine playing for your country in front of thousands of cheering fans applauding every error you make and every shot the opponent makes?

Day 2 is the Bryan Brothers vs Serbia – oops, only Bob Brian (Mike had gotten food poisoning) and John Isner playing the top doubles player in the world for Serbia, Zimonjic and singles specialist Tipsarevic.  The Americans manage to pull out an incredible win.  At set point in the tie breaker, Isner is passed on set point at the net – Zimonjic had raised his hand and called Bob Brian’s serve “out.”  The umpire declared a let for distraction and the Americans somehow manage to win that point and the tie breaker and the match later on.

Day 3 Isner and #2 in the world, Djokovic – in Serbia, thousands of exuberant fans and on red clay.  John plays well in the first set but gets broken late in the first set to go down 0-1. 2nd set, John comes back to win, 3rd set, Djokovic wins and in a tie breaker, John wins the 4th set.  Djokovic is penalize a point in the tie breaker for hitting a ball into the stands.  This is his second violation and John gets a free point to go up 3-1 in the breaker.  John holds serve after a tight tie breaker to force a 5th set.

5th set Isner – now in his 10th hour of Davis Cup competition in the last 3 days and all in matches that count is broken early in the set.  The crowd goes wild.  John stays competitive throughout the set and goes on to SAVE 5 MATCH POINTS, before netting a forehand from the ad court on return of serve.

Awesome play from John Isner who played 4 years at Georgia, won the NCAA Singles Championships before going out out on the tour.  Way to go John…  He had lost to Sam Querry last week in Memphis in the finals and then teamed with Sam to win the doubles – he and Sam are a double threat in singles and doubles.

John showed so much composure and guts in this match against the crowd and the #2 ranked and 3rd best clay court player in the world behind Federer and Nadal.  John and Sam love to play tennis and will be a part of Davis Cup for many years to come as well as the ATP Tour.  This should be a super summer for both of these tall (6 ft 9″ and 6 ft 6″) American players.

We may have lost this week but we certainly have seen we have a couple of winners in John Isner, Sam Querry – not to mention the best doubles team in the world – the 30 yr old Bryan Brothers who will soon become the team with all the worlds doubles records by the time they think of retiring.

Thanks Americans, we are proud of you,
Ken DeHart

Photo Credits: Camino Z

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